"I was still in the same mail-boat when she give up the passenger business an' went on the North Sea patrol. "Well, one day we boarded a Chile barque in the ordinary course o' duty, and I was one o' those as went on board with the lootenant. They generally takes me on them jobs, the reason bein' that I know a deal o' foreign languages. I don't believe there's a country in the world where I couldn't make myself understood, partic'lar when I'm wantin' a drink bad. "I wasn't takin' that much notice of this 'ere ship at the time (there was a bit of a nasty jobble on the water, for one thing, and we 'ad our work cut out gettin' alongside), except that 'er name was the _Maria de Somethink-or-other_--some Dago name. But while we was waitin' for the lootenant to finish 'is business with Old Monkey Brand, which was the black-faced Chileno captain she 'ad, it come over me all of a suddent. "'Strike me pink!' I says, 'may my name be Dennis if I 'aven't seen that there bit o' fancy-work on the poop ladder rails before;' which so I 'ad, for I done it myself in the doldrums, an' a nice bit o' work it was, too. "You'll 'ave guessed by now that she was none other than the _Pearl of Asia_; an' no wonder I 'adn't reckernised 'er, what with the mess she was in alow and aloft, an' allyminian paint all over the poop railin's as would 'ave made our old blue-nose mate die o' rage. "'You carry on 'ere,' I says to the feller that was with me; 'I'm goin' for'ard a minute.' "'Arf a minute, an' I was in my old bunk; an' there was the cache all right, just like I left it." He paused dramatically; I supposed it was for histrionic effect, but it lasted so long that I said, "And so I suppose you sent the ring to the girl after all?" "Oh! '_er!_" he said, with an air of surprise, "I've forgot 'er name and all about 'er, only that she 'ad a brother in one o' them monkey-boats of ELDER DEMPSTER'S--'e 'ad the biggest thirst I ever struck." "But the ring?" I said. "I suppose it was there all right?" He stopped his pipe down with his thumb, with an enigmatical expression. "That's where the bloomin' coincidence come in," he said; "it weren't." C.F.S. * * * * * [Illustration: _Colonel_ (_to private told off to act as caddie_). "NOW I HOPE YOU KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT IT. THE LAST MAN I HAD PUT ME RIGHT OFF. HAVE YOU EVER HANDLED CLUBS BEFORE?" _Private_. "NOT SINCE I PLAYED IN THE AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP, SIR." (_Colonel is put off again._)] * * * * * "Miss ----, the World-renounced Teacher of Dancing."--_Southern Standard_. Another victim of the War. * * * * *